250 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Adult male. Head, hind -neck, sides of the neck, and mantle dark vin 

 somewhat darker on the nape and hind -neck ; wings and interscapular region green, 

 with coppery reflections ; some of the lesser wing-coverts edged with white, forming 

 a band ; bastard -wing and primary-coverts black ; quills dark brown, with chestnut 

 on the inner webs ; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts greenish-black, with indistinct 

 metallic bars, in certain lights, and grey bands across the rump, the long upper tail- 

 coverts paler towards the base ; outer tail-feathers grey, with a subapical black 

 band, remainder of the tail bronzy -brown ; sides of the face, chin, throat, and fore- 

 neck vinous, becoming paler on the abdomen and sides of the body ; vent and under 

 tail-coverts slate-grey, longer ones blackish ; under wing-coverts and the greater 

 part of the quill -lining chestnut ; bill red, base greyish-blue ; iris brown, orbits 

 grey ; feet dull red. Total length 240 mm. ; culmen 22, wing 153, tail 89, 

 tarsus 27. 



Adult female. Differs from the adult male in having the head and hind-neck 

 paler vinous ; wing-bar grey, instead of white ; upper tail-coverts brown, with 

 dark edges to the feathers ; chin, throat and under-surface rust-brown ; under 

 tail-coverts reddish-brown, with dark edges. Total length 233 mm. ; culmen 22, 

 wing 147, tail 79, tarsus 25. 



Adult male. Head, hind -neck, sides of the neck and mantle lilac, somewhat 

 darker on the hinder part of the head ; wings and interscapular region green, with 

 very strong coppery reflections ; a large white patch on the shoulder, which occupies 

 the greater portion of the lesser wing-coverts ; bastard-wing and primary-coverts 

 black ; quills dark brown on the margins of the outer webs, chestnut on the inner 

 ones, the latter colour encroaching on both webs at the base of the inner primaries 

 and secondary -quill s ; lower back blackish, with minute bronze bars on some of the 

 feathers and crossed by a grey band ; tail for the most part black, the two outer 

 pairs of feathers on each side grey, with a wide subtenninal black band ; chin and 

 throat vinous, becoming paler on the breast and abdomen ; vent and short under 

 tail-coverts slate colour, the longer ones black ; lower aspect of the tail-feathers 

 black, with pale tips ; under wing-coverts and quill-lining pale chestnut ; bill 

 red ; iris brown ; tarsi and feet pink. Total length 260 mm. ; culmen 26, wing 158 r 

 tail 86, tarsus 27. (Type of C. occidentalis North.) 



Adult female. Distinguished from the male by the darker lilac colour of the 

 head and hind-neck, much smaller white shoulder patch, and brown upper tail- 

 coverts. Total length 260 mm. ; culmen 25, wing 156, tail 84. (Type of C. 

 occidentalis North.) 



Young male. Distinguished from the adult by having a paler fore-head, darker 

 hind-neck, and the feathers of the head blackish, tipped with rufous ; only median 

 wing-coverts green, primary-coverts chestnut, most of the quills tipped with the 

 same colour, feathers on the sides of the neck and breast blackish, margined with 

 chestnut, giving a barred appearance, which is much less pronounced on the abdomen. 



Nest. A frail, flat structure of twigs ; placed in a low tree. 



Eggs. Clutch, two ; smooth and slightly glossy ; of a pale cream-colour ; axis 

 25-26 mm., diameter 20. 



Breeding-season. October to January. 



Distribution and forms. Through the Moluccas and tropical Northern Australia. 

 The extra-Australian forms are not well loiown yet well-defined subspecies are known 

 in Australia ; thus C. c. chrysochlora (Wagler) from New South Wales and Southern 

 Queensland ; C. c. longirostris Gould from Northern Territory (so distinct that it 

 has been renamed twice by North as C. occidentalis, and by Zietz as C. c. melvillensis, 

 the latter perhaps later recognisable) with a notably longer bill, with brighter 

 coloration ; C. c. rogersi Mathews from the Cairns district, North Queensland, a paler 

 form, with the under-surface paler and the nape coloration duller ; and C. c. kempt 

 from Cape York, North Queensland, a much smaller form. 



